Child abuse
虐童
Developing a peaceful, understanding, and supportive relationship between parents and children is not an easy task. Failures can and do occur at any age level, and at times the results are the abuse, neglect, and even death of children.
在父母和孩子之间培养和平、理解、支持的关系不是一个容易的事情。失败能出现在年龄的每一个阶段，结果可能是虐待、忽视、甚至是造成儿童的死亡。
Child abuse has become a major topic in child development and an issue of much national concern. In the span of four legislative years, 1963-1967, all fifty states enacted laws calling for the reporting of injuries inflicted on children. By 1973, the United States Congress passed the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act(Public Law 93-247). This law not only reflected the mood of concerned citizens, but it also did much to clear up the confusion and disagreement over what is child abuse. In section 3 of the law, child abuse and neglect are defined as “the physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child under the age of eighteen by a person who is responsible for the child’s welfare under circumstances which indicate that the child’s health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby…”
虐童已经成为儿童成长的重要主题并且受到国内广泛关注。在4年立法年间，1963年到1967年，全美五十个洲因儿童被伤害的报道而制定法律。1973年，美国议会通过了儿童虐待预防及处理办法（公法 93-247）。这个法律不仅反映了关注市民的情绪，而且解释清楚了什么是儿童虐待。法律的第三部分，儿童虐待和忽视被定义为“对孩子福利有责任的个人使孩子遭受身体和心理的伤害、性虐待、处理不妥当和苛待18岁以下的儿童，这种情况意味着孩子的健康和福利已经受到损害和威胁。”
How widespread are child abuse and neglect? Although the existence of state and federal laws provides general definitions of abuse, there is wide variation in how strictly the guidelines are interpreted. This in turn affects any attempt to determine how many children become victims of abuse and neglect. Estimates vary from 10,000 to 10 million cases a year. This rather dramatic difference in figures may be, in part, because of the degree of conformity to legally mandated reporting requirements. In all but six states, members of the medical profession are designated as the principal reporters of suspected abuse. in most states teachers, school administrators, social workers, law enforcement officials, coroners, attorneys, and psychologists are obligated to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect.
儿童虐待和忽视有多普遍呢？尽管自治州和联邦法律提供了虐待的一般含义，如何去严格说明指导方针还是有很大变动。这将会影响到决定多少儿童成为虐待和忽视的受害者。估计每年大概有1万到1000万个案件。这个数字实在是相异的奇怪，某种程度上是因为要按照法律规范的报告要求相一致。全美有六个州，医疗职业的人群被任命作为疑似虐待的主要报告人。
What is reportable? For a specific case of suspected abuse to be reported, there must be reason to believe that a child’s injuries are not the result of an accident. Symptoms might include frequent complaints of abdominal pain, evidence of bruises, welts, wounds, cuts, or punctures, and cigarette burns. Indications of neglect could be tattered and unwashed clothing, evidence of hunger and improper nourishment, consistent early school arrival and staying after school has been dismissed, and poor hygiene and health care.
什么是值得报告的呢？对于要报道一个具体的可疑虐待，这就有理由去相信孩子身上的伤不伤意外导致的。征兆可能包含了常见的原因例如肚子疼、明显可见的擦伤，伤痕，伤口，刀伤或者刺痕，以及烟头烫伤。一些疏漏的迹象例如破衣服、没有洗的衣服、饿肚子和营养不良，早到校或者放学了还待了很久，差劲的卫生保健。
To whom to report a suspected case of child abuse varies from state to state. Most state laws specify a county or state department of welfare or a law enforcement division as the receiving agency.
报道虐童疑似案件每一个州都有。大多数的州法律都有说明郡或者州福利部门或者执法部门为接收机构。
The question “What caused child abuse?” has prompted much debate. The that “the abuser is sick” hypothesis is too limited. A broader social, psychological approach recognizes that some personal problems are implicit but that psychological factors arise out of a social context. Social factors include unemployment, social isolation, and unwanted pregnancy. Moreover, findings that abuse occurs more frequently in larger families and families with low income , poor education, and low occupational status suggest that many such parents cannot withstand the 24-hour-a-day responsibility to raise and care for their children. These problems aggravate the situation, especially when combined with the general approval in our culture of violence.
问题“是什么造成虐童？”引发很多争论。虐待人都有病这个假设太局限了。一个更广泛的社会心理探索认为一些个人问题是隐喻的，不过心理问题也随着社会环境而不断出现。社会因素包括事业、社会孤立、非意愿怀孕。而且，研究发现虐待更容易出现在大家庭里面或者低收入、教育接受程度低以及职业地位低的家庭，这说明了很多父母没法忍受每天24小时抚养并关爱他们的孩子。这些问题使形势更加严峻，特别是我们对暴力文化普遍认同的情况下。
Both the social and the psychological approaches offer useful insights into the causes of child abuse. We can only develop a fuller understanding of this tragic phenomenon in our society by looking at both social and psychological factors.
社会和心理探索提供了虐童原因的有用情报。我们唯有通过社会和心理因素来全面理解我们人类社会这一悲惨的现象。
仅为个人翻译，如若有错，不关我事。
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